


Second Chance

by Brunhild



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vikings, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-09 11:36:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1981458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brunhild/pseuds/Brunhild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Siggy is a widow raising her daughter Thyri in modern day New York. One night Thyri brings home a young man. The young man's father and Siggy were once involved with one another. Siggy starts to think about her past. Can love survive time, distance and other people?<br/>In the series "Vikings" King Horik treated Siggy pretty bad. In this modern story, King Horik makes up for his past treatment of Siggy. He does it in a big way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chance

Siggy was home alone again. Well she wasn't exactly alone, Alex, the Yorkshire Terrier Rollo had given her was sitting by the sofa. Alex had been a gift from Rollo when her old Yorkie Mickey had died of old age. Rollo had given Alex to her early in their relationship. Lately it seemed like they barely had a relationship anymore. She hardly ever saw him. Tonight he had another excuse to keep from coming by her apartment. He had said that he had wanted to finishing grading his papers before the end of the week. Spring break was next week. She would have to accept his excuse this time. She had some work that she had to finish as well. Their relationship had become strained. Siggy wondered did Rollo really mean it when he had asked her to marry him a couple of years ago. Since then, the relationship had been on again, off again and pretty soon, it may be never again. After all, he could not expect her to wait forever. 

Rollo had married his ex-wife Lagertha his third year in college. They had been married 15 years before the divorce. He and his ex-wife had thirteen year old twins. The twins, a boy and girl stayed with their mother. Rollo, a mathematics professor at the local university often keep late hours. He was usually busy meeting with other staff in the department, grading papers and meeting with students from his classes. He tried to be available to his students if they needed help with class work or had other problems. He was also working on his Ph.d in Mathematics as well. Siggy was glad that the English Department was not as demanding as some of the other departments. After lectures, she had some leisure time. This evening she had come home and fixed a light dinner and now it was TV time. She was watching some new talent show when Thyri came home. She walked into the living room with a young man that Siggy recognized from the university.

"Hello mom" said Thyri as she sat her books down on the desk by the window. The young man with Thyri stood patiently by the desk. Alex, the Yorkshire terrier came over and casually inspected the young man. He gave the young man one final sniff before he walked away deciding that the young man was not a threat to anyone. The young man looked down and smiled at the small dog before he walked to Siggy and sat by her on the sofa.  
"Good evening Thyri" said Siggy as she looked from Thyri to the young man standing by her side.  
"Have the two of you eaten yet? I could fix you both something if you would like?"  
"No, thanks mom, we ate some pizza after we studied at the library. She motioned for the young man to step forward. "Mother, I would like for you to meet Erlendur Gudfriedsson, Erlendur, this is my mother Siggy Haroldson."  
" Erlendur stepped forward to introduce himself and shake Siggy's hand.  
"Gudfriedsson, are you related to a man named Horik Godfriedsson? His family was from Sweden."  
"Yes, that is my father. He is currently in Sweden. I moved here to study in the Pre-med program." Siggy motioned for the young man to sit down. Seeing the young man made Siggy think back to her college days when she had first met Horik. She had been in love with him and he had been in love with her. He had told her so. They had talked of marriage. Horik's parents had a problem with Siggy. They did not approve of her. Horik's family had been wealthy with several prominent business men, doctors and lawyers. Horik had gotten his law degree before he went back to Sweden. His father was a doctor and his mother was a music teacher. They owned various businesses in Sweden as well. Siggy's parents were middle class people. Her father had been police officer before his retirement and her mother had been a kindergarden teacher. Siggy and her sister and two brothers had done well in life. She had became an English professor at the university, her sister had founded a software engineering company in Chicago and her two brothers had successful military careers. She thought about Horik now. He had even taken her to Sweden one time, but his family did not like her. They encouraged him to marry Gunnhild Einarsdottier, a daughter of one of their friends in Sweden. After his marriage Siggy had lost contact with Horik. The fall after their break-up, Siggy had started some student teaching part-time at the university. She met an older professor from the Science Department. Doctor Andrew Haroldson. Andrew Haroldson took an immediate interest in her. He was eleven years older than her and he had never been married. She was young and had quickly fallen in love with Andrew, hoping to forget Horik. They had been together for six months when Siggy told him that she was expecting a child. They had married quickly with her parent's blessing. Her parents had liked Andrew very much. Andrew's parents were deceased. Thyri was born seven months later. In time she and Andrew had two sons as well. Over the years, the passion in the marriage had diminished. Andrew had numerous affairs with students and staff alike. Siggy had known but she simply ignored these things. She concentrated on raising the children and teaching. She tried to stay faithful. About four years ago, a new professor transferred to the university. Professor Robert (Rollo) Lothbrok. He and his brother Ragnar had been alumni of the university. They had both been popular football stars years ago. He had transferred back to New York from Chicago because his wife had agreed to take over her ailing father's law firm. A year after the transfer, they had gotten a divorce. Lagertha had gotten custody of the children. Siggy and Rollo (Rollo was a nickname from his college years) had began a secret affair before he had gotten a divorce and before her husband's death. They saw each other whenever they could. They would take the ferry from New York to New Jersey and meet over there. Not long after their affair started, Andrew and their two sons had been killed in a traffic accident. A drunk driver driving the wrong way had hit them head-on. They had been coming back from a three-day camping trip to the mountains. Siggy was devastated. Despite everything that had happened between her and Andrew she still loved him very much. She felt that she would never over come the lost of her sons. She thought her life was over too. If it had not been for Rollo's love and understanding she didn't know what might have became of her. Rollo had a pretty rough time after his divorce from his ex- wife. His ex- wife Lagertha had made it hard for him to see the children. He finally threatened to take Lagertha back to court and file for custody of the twins. He also told her that he would have her declared unfit based on her affair with his own brother Ragnar. Lagertha, not wanting the negative publicity that these accusations could cause, quickly agreed to abide by the custody arrangement decided by the courts. Siggy and Rollo had dated over four years.

Siggy sat silently as she thought about things that had happened in the past few years. Thyri glanced over her mother.

"Mother, are you okay..." asked Thyri as she noticed her mother silently staring into space.  
"Yes Thyri, am okay. I'm sorry, I was off in another world there for a minute." She smiled at Thyri and Erlendur.  
"So Erlendur, how is your father doing these days?"  
"He is doing okay now. He and mother are finally starting to recover from my older brother Ari's death three years ago."  
"I am sorry for your loss" said Siggy, a concerned look on her face.  
"Yes, thank-you. My brother was killed in climbing accident in Asia. After my brother's death, my mother became sick with grief and she developed some health issues as well. Father tried to stay strong for mother's sake but it affected him greatly as well. Things are better for us now." Siggy could sympathize with the young man and his family. She remembered the time after her husband and son's deaths. An awkard silence passed between them for a moment when Siggy decided to ask him how he and Thyri had met. Erlendur smiled at the two women as he told Siggy how he had met Thyri coming out of the bookstore at the beginning of the semester. She had been carrying too many books in her arms. She was Pre-med like him and needed a lot of books. He had offered to help her but she had refused his help. Shortly after, she had dropped all of the books on the sidewalk outside. He came over to help her take her books to the car. They started talking and they found out that they had several classes together. They had started dating a few weeks ago. Siggy smiled as she thought about Erlendur's father Horik. They had dated when they were in college too. 

Erlendur said that his father traveled between his home in New York and Sweden quite often. He and Gunnhild also had a home in Sweden where she stayed with her aged parents. He went on to say that his father would be back in New York in a few days. Siggy was excited by this news. Erlendur promised to tell his father that he had met Siggy the next time that he called his father. Siggy told him that would please her very much. The three of them talked for another half hour until Erlendur told Siggy that he had to go because he had two exams that he had to study for. Thyri agreed with him because she had the same two exams to study for. Erlendur got up to leave and Thyri walked him to the door. He leaned over and kissed Thyri goodnight before he turned to leave. Thyri and Siggy told the young man good-bye. Siggy walked into the kitchen and started making a pot of coffee and took two pieces of cheesecake out of the refrigerator. Thyri sat down and looked at her mother. Siggy never made coffee this time of night unless something was on her mind or in this case someone was on her mind. Thyri decided to ask her mother about Erlendur's father Horik. 

"Mother, you never mentioned Erlendur's father before. I didn't know that you knew him?"  
"Well Thyri, I did have a life before I got married to your father and had you and your brothers."  
"Did you and Erlendur's father date?"  
"Yes, we dated in college years ago."  
"Did you love him?" asked Thyri.  
"Yes Thyri, I did. I loved Horik very much. I know that he loved me very much as well. We even talked of marriage too."  
"Why didn't the two of you get married?"  
"We didn't get married because of his family. His family was very wealthy. Money and status meant a lot to them. To them, my family was poor. I didn't have the right background for them. They did not approve of me or our relationship. They pressured him to break-up with me and marry a girl named Gunnhild, a daughter of one of their friends. Her father was a wealthy businessman in Sweden. He didn't want to marry her because he did not love her." Thyri looked at her mother as she told her how she and Horik had broke up and how she had met her future husband, Thyri's father. After she told Thyri this, the two women finished their cheesecake and coffee. They washed the dishes and sat down to watch TV. About an hour later the telephone rang. It was a telephone number that Siggy did not recognize. She picked up the telephone.  
"Hello."  
"Siggy, is this you?" asked an unfamiliar voice with an accent. "Siggy, it's me, Horik..."  
"Horik?" asked Siggy in amazement.  
"Yes, it's me Siggy. My son called me earlier and told me that he had met you there in New York. He told me that he had some classes with your daughter and that they were dating. He gave me the telephone number to your home, I hope you don't mind that I contacted you."  
"No, it doesn't bother me at all. What about you, it is well past your bedtime. It is 8:35p.m. here."  
"It is 2:35 a.m. here in Sweden. I am at an all night café and I was doing some legal work for one of father's business partners. Many times, I work at night and sleep during the daylight hours." Siggy and Horik continued to talk for over an hour. Before he said good-bye, Horik told Siggy that he would be in New York for ten days. He would arrive on Thursday afternoon and would like to take her out to dinner. She quickly agreed before she said good-bye to Horik. Siggy looked like a teenage girl in love after she got off of the telephone. Thyri could see how excited her mother was. Siggy had not smiled like this since before her husband's death. The two of them talked for a few minutes before they both went to bed. Siggy lay in bed thinking about Thursday night. It was just Monday night. It was going to be a long wait until Thursday. Siggy thought on these things as she drifted off to sleep. 

It was finally Thursday. Siggy had taken Thursday and Friday off. Her students had turned their papers early last week in and taken their exams Monday and Tuesday of this week. All of her work was done. Next week was Spring Break but the professors still had some small task to work on during this time. Much of her work could be done at home on the computer. She had sat down about fifteen minutes ago to write out questions for one of her classes when the door bell rang. It was two deliverymen. One of them asked was she Siggy Haroldson. She told them that she was. One of the men held red roses in a crystal vase and the other held a small wrapped box. The man holding the boxed asked for identification. Puzzled, Siggy went and got her driver's license. Siggy was shocked because she was not expecting anyone flowers or gifts this morning. She invited the young men inside to put the gifts on the desk. She told the men to wait while she went get a tip for them. The two young men explained the sender of the gifts had very generously covered the gratuity for the delivery of the items. Surprised, Siggy thanked the young men and closed the door. She ran over to the desk to look at the roses. There were two dozen of the most beautiful red roses that she had ever seen. Siggy opened the card with the roses and read the message:  
Siggy I hope that you will enjoy these roses.  
I look forward to seeing you tonight at 7  
at Alegheri's Italian Restaurant.  
Horik

Alegheri's? That was one of the most expensive Italian restaurants in Manhatten. She had wondered what she would wear. She remembered that Horik loved dark blue. She decided to wear her dark blue dress. She then looked over at the small wrapped package on the desk. She picked it up and quickly unwrapped it. It was a small velvet jewelry box. She opened it and inside were a diamond necklace and matching earrings. Siggy looked at the necklace and earrings. They must have cost a fortune she thought. The boxes said Sophia's, one of the most expensive jewelry stores in New York. Andrew had bought her engagement ring there years ago. The package contained a card:

These are to match the sparkle in your eyes...  
See you at seven!

With Love,

Horik

Siggy was overcome with emotion. She looked at the gifts. She put the jewelry box in her room and went back to her computer. She tried to work but she could not accomplish anything the rest of the day. She thought about Rollo briefly. They had spent time together last night. He told her that he was taking his children to the Bahamas for Spring Break and that he was leaving Thursday evening after he put his grades into the computer system. He had called her and told her good-bye. He asked if she was okay and did she need anything. She told him no. Any other time she would have been mad that they would not be together. This time she didn't care. She was glad he was going out of town. For the briefest of seconds she almost felt guilty about being glad that Rollo was going to be out of town and she could see Horik. Almost! Siggy grinned at having such thoughts.

It was 5:30 p.m. Siggy was getting ready to meet Horik. The telephone rang. It was a limo service asking her would she be ready at 6:30 p.m. for her travel to Alegheri's. Siggy told them yes. After she was off of the telephone, Siggy just sat and stared into the mirror. She didn't know what to think. A limo, jewelry and roses. She wished Thyri had been here at this moment. Thyri was at work at the mall and would not be home until after 10:00 p.m. Siggy continued to get ready for her date. At 6:30 p.m. the white limo arrived. She was escorted to the limo and sat down inside. She could not believe that she had an entire limo to herself. She was still in shock when the limo arrived at Alegheri's at 6:45 sharp. She was escorted inside and the waiter quickly showed her to her seat in a secluded area in the restaurant. The last time that she had been here had been her tenth wedding anniversary. The restaurant was as nice as she remembered. Siggy sipped her water as she waited. She glanced at her watch, it was 6:57 now. She stared nervously at the floral arrangement on the table. Suddenly someone called her name.  
"Siggy!" She recognized the voice at once. She turned to look back, "Horik?"

 

The End


End file.
